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There. An obvious blonde, around thirty, with enhanced breasts and gobs of black eyeliner. The low-cut wrap dress leaves her cleavage mostly exposed, and I’m fairly certain she’s not wearing a bra. Perfect.
“Drink?” I sit beside her, uninvited.
She perks up immediately. I pretend interest, but I feel Kari’s eyes on my back, burning like twin coals. Hurt pours off her, threatening to sear through my skin and burn all the way to my heart.
I grit my teeth and push on.
“Sure.” The blonde leans in, giving me a clearer view I didn’t ask for straight down her dress. Then she drops her hand dangerously high on my thigh.
“Or do you prefer to fuck?” I drawl.
Instantly, I regret those words. I’m not attracted to the human.
“Even better.” A naughty smile curls up the woman’s mouth.
Not what I want to hear, but if this charade helps keep Kari safe, nothing else matters.
“Let’s go.”
The loud blonde wraps her arms around me and clings like an octopus as we make our way out the door. Still, I avoid Kari’s gaze—but I feel it. I’m hurting her. I know it. I hate it. My stomach turns. I burn with anger and shame.
“My flat isn’t far,” the woman purrs, her hand creeping under my shirt and scratching over my abdomen. “Yum.”
I close my eyes and swallow down disgust. The stranger’s nearness is wreaking havoc on my ability to keep down my dinner. Everything inside me screams no! I don’t know this woman. I have no feelings for her.
That never stopped you before.
But for the first time, I can’t muster the desire to shag a perfectly willing woman. Did issuing the Call to Kari change my ability to bed someone else? Since I didn’t grow up in a house where I could observe or discuss mate bonds, I have no idea.
When the woman grabs my face and plants her mouth on mine, her tongue diving deep, I have my answer immediately. My body recoils, and everything within me revolts.
Weak and sweating, I wrench away, wiping all traces of her from my lips. “Stop. I…can’t. I’m sorry.”
I don’t stay to answer her unspoken questions. Instead, I dart around a dark corner and disappear into a nearby alley to watch over Kari for the rest of the night.
All the while, my thoughts race. Learning that I can touch only her is an odd relief. I have no idea what I’ll do for energy now that I can’t randomly fuck women to generate it, but the knowledge gives me clarity. Leaning on Avalyn was unfair. Protecting Kari is my responsibility. To truly do that, I’ll need to go straight to the devil—and I’ll need to make him a deal.
Chapter Seven
Before I can visit the devil, he comes to me.
A few hours later, minutes before quitting time, I follow Bram Rion—of all people—as he enters the Witch’s Brew. I haven’t seen the clever bastard in decades, not since Raiden and I played with the man’s sister, Sabelle, as younglings. But now isn’t the time for pleasantries. He and I need to make a deal for Kari’s safety.
Before I can negotiate, he claims he’s come to speak to Raiden and me. And everything he’s said since is terrifying.
“Mathias is running loose? Not Mathias d’Arc, surely. He was exiled?—”
“Centuries past, yes. He broke free over a month ago. That night, he attacked the MacKinnetts. He violated and killed the witchling Tynan O’Shea planned to mate once she transitioned.”
So he’s not interested in Kari? “Witchling? How old was she?”
“Still a child. Mathias has been killing innocents and wreaking havoc since.”
I gape, trying to wrap my mind around something that should be impossible. The danger around Kari is so much worse than I imagined. “You said he’s creating soulless minions as well. For his Anarki army?”
“Indeed. We’re up to our elbows fighting them. And they’re impervious to magic. Mathias is creating them faster than we can kill them.”
“We?”
